Practice Report: OKC prepares for The Beard’s return

Everyone knows that Wednesday’s game against the Rockets means just a little bit more. Even Scott Brooks, who broke from his “every game matters the same” script after practice Tuesday.

“No, it’s not just another game. I want to beat the Rockets,” Brooks said. “They traded me in the second championship year. It took me five years to get over Rudy Tomjanovich. Now we’re best buddies. But yeah, it’s still personal.”

OK, other than that, it’s not just any game for the Thunder. It’s the return of James Harden, which will surely be an awkward, somewhat emotional night at The Peake.

It was just a month ago — exactly a month, tomorrow — that the Thunder traded Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward away in a blockbuster than brought in Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and picks. It was a shocking turn of events after the Thunder couldn’t reach an extension agreement with Harden. With everything Harden had said himself from talking about sacrifice, to taking less money, to being “a hundred percent” sure he was staying, it was hard to be prepared for it.

And now, Harden returns. How will the fans respond? A lot has happened since Harden was traded and a player once as beloved as any on the roster is seen in a bit of a different light. Still, it’s hard to forget the very good times the Thunder had with Harden. The big shots, the big dunks, the big moments.

“Obviously with James coming back, the fans are going to be excited to see him,” Brooks said. “But I really believe they’re going to cheer him on early and cheer for us the rest of the game.”

Whatever the reaction is, it’s going to be weird. But Brooks says, probably more so for Harden.

“There’s no question it’s probably more emotional for the guy playing against his former team than a team playing against one player,” he said. “Because we look at tomorrow’s game as we have to beat the Rockets.”

Don’t forget though, this is Kevin Martin’s first time playing against his old team too. While it doesn’t carry the same weight as Harden’s return to OKC, he definitely understands the situation better than most.

“He’s going to be hit with a lot of emotions. Especially the closer it gets to tipoff,” Martin said. “But the fans love him here, he had success. So it should be a good welcoming for him.”

What about for him personally, playing against the Rockets?

“I had some great years down there. Not being in a Rockets uniform, it’ll be a little emotional,” he said. “But it’s part of the business and you wish them the best of luck and you go on with the game and try and win it.”

There’s no doubt that Harden meant a lot to this team, and this city. He was an extremely important player on the roster, but a beloved personality and a close friend in the locker room. Unless you’re Russell Westbrook who is devoid of personal attachment and emotion.

“It won’t be nothing for me. Nothing happened to me. It’s another night man,” said Westbrook. “Like I said, those guys, James, Daequan, Cole, we’re all still good friends. But we got to go in and take care of business.”

Brooks said he plans to begin the game with Thabo Sefolosha on Harden, which should come as zero surprise since Harden is Houston’s best player and Thabo is OKC’s best defender. But there will likely be adjustments throughout the night. Because if anyone understands how to defend Harden, it should be the Thunder.

“The crazy thing is though, good players seem to figure out how to get their points and get their game going,” Brooks said. “Everybody knows the league pretty well. You know how to stop Kevin Durant, but it’s hard to do it. You know how to stop Russell, but it’s hard to do it. That’s what makes the great players special. And James, it’s hard to stop him.”

Stopping Harden though means you’ve stopped the Rockets. As Darnell Mayberry pointed out, games in which Harden shoots over 45 percent the Rockets are 5-0. They’re 1-7 when he shoots under 45 percent. That was the rallying cry about Harden’s move is that while he was going to be The Man in Houston, he also wasn’t going to have Durant and Westbrook to lean on. And the Thunder want to give Harden the rude awakening of showing him what he’s missing in OKC.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On his quote about it being personal with the Rockets: “That was the truth many years ago though. But I wasn’t really good enough to be like, ‘Oh, I’m really going to go at ‘em next time we play ‘em.'”

On Harden’s perspective: “When you come back and play a team where you’ve been traded from, there’s obviously more emotions there.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On sharing the ball “We know we’re a special team when we’re sharing the ball. That’s one thing coach has been talking about the last couple weeks. Just keep sharing the ball, keep trusting each other an that’s what we’ve been doing lately.”

On if it’s a little more personal with Harden tomorrow: “I’ve been in the league nine years. I’ve have nothing personal with anything. It’s for everybody else to make whatever they want to make out of it.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On what he’s been doing different the past few weeks: “Nothing. I mean I’ve been taking the same amount of shots. Just been making ‘em.”

On defending Harden: “I mean, I don’t know what it’s like. Because we ain’t played yet. But it’s different. He has a green light over there, he plays freely. He’s able to basically do whatever he wants. But we just have to do a good job of team defense and we’ll be alright.”

The Lakers traded for Howard and Nash..Nash isnt playing, Howard is a shell of himself...this is annoying, not what i pictured in the summer..Back to Kobe taking over games and Gasol being inconsistent...My Lakers are in trouble..

@BallSoHard Lamb has the higher ceiling although he's struggling right now and maybe should spend some time in Tulsa. Lamb has shown at UConn when surrounded by a player like Walker he can excel.Put Lamb on the floor with KD and Russ and that could be fun. Lamb is not an alpha guy---he needs an alpha beside him on the floor. Perry Jones never showed me this during his days at Baylor. His game always seems disjointed somewhat.

I'm not giving up on Chandler Parsons. We know the Thunder brass reads this website---so here's what we do to get another scorer with size so we can beat Miami in the Finals.

We trade Perry Jones and that first round pick from Dallas and the second round pick from Charlotte back to Houston for Parsons.

2012 stats

Chandler Parsons 15.7 ppg 7.0 rbpg 3,5 apg PER 15.95

Pull back even more on the Eric Maynor minutes and you'd have a second unit with KD, KMart, Nick, Hasheem and Chandler Parsons. Reggie would mix with these pretty well when it comes to that.

@FreeFezzyFel/BIG3little2 he gotta go..His just not reliable for that huge contract of his..The problem though is that Nash is the biggest piece and his not playing..I think we have to wait and see how he plays with Nash first but im getting tired of his lackadaisical play

@PerkPunt@BallSoHard Lamb's ceiling is Shane Battier, PJIII's ceiling is LMA. Lamb could reach his ceiling easier because A) it's lower and B) his role pushes him towards those talents. PJIII could theoretically do what LMA does, but he doesn't have the mentality nor raw skills. Perry doesn't want to play in the post, and LMA has always been at his best when forced to be a post-oriented player. I think Perry ultimately ends up a lot like Jeff Green - tweener with bench level production.

@PerkPunt I dunno, did teams really miss on the draft. I mean obviously he has the knee situation but if PJ3's ceiling is higher, how was he passed up that many spots? Lamb was taken really early also...

@Crow @Keith00 @PerkPunt Looks like it hasn't improved much...shooting 68% in d-league (small sample) but he shoots well frmo the field and averaging 8.5 ASG. At best I would say he's Thabo Lite. I may prefer him if Thabo gets hurt this year.

@Keith00@BallSoHard@PerkPunt There is little in his stats *before this season* to suggest Liggins can shoot to NBA average. One college season good at the 3 pt shot and that is about it. He might get better over time, best case like Thabo?

@BallSoHard@Keith00@PerkPunt I'd just rather have the roster spot. Let's face it, if we cut him, it's not like he won't be available later on if injuries hit.

Also, Kyrylo Fesenko would actually be a useful player. He's a dominant defender. He's still unsigned by an NBA team. Why waste a roster spot on Orton when we could sign someone who could actually help the team?

@BallSoHard@PerkPunt Liggins can shoot. Considering all these guys are going to play sparse minutes anyway, Liggins makes the most sense with the Thunder. Shooting can arguably have the greatest individual impact in limited time. Also, Liggins is likely closer to his long term role. He doesn't have as much to figure out in his game.

Orton should just be cut, he provides nothing we don't already have and better. Jones and Lamb should both be down in Tulsa working on their shooting and defense. I see the value indoctrinating them in the Thunder culture, but it doesn't seem to supersede the value of them getting significant, consistent playtime.

@Keith00@FreeFezzyFel/BIG3little2 ...Nash changes everything..he makes those average and below average players look like stars..Howard is a shell of himself so we have to wait for him to get back to form..Gasol should be traded if theres a good deal out there

@kennygee90@FreeFezzyFel/BIG3little2 LA should still try to turn Gasol into multiple solid rotation players. He's still great, but the bench and tertiary characters are blowing it. The defense isn't very good (primarily due to Howard's back), the offense is fine. This is why I suspect getting Nash back won't make much of a difference.

LA jumped all in on the star heavy model, but the stars aren't up to the challenge. They are hurt, old, both, or just inconsistent. If LA could turn Pau into a defensive PF and some backup help on the perimeter, I think they would be better off.

@Keith00@BallSoHard@justin_mia@PerkPunt I looked at Draftexpress for PFs with fast sprint times as a starting point comparison for Jones. The best PF faster than Jones is David Lee. Jones isn't going to be David Lee. Another name faster is Chris Wilcox. Jones might be a Chris Wilcox. He might not be that good. Another name that came to mind for blue sky aspiration was James Worthy. They might want to have him watch James Worthy film and get in spots to score like him.

@BallSoHard@justin_mia@PerkPunt@Keith00 Bosh's bread and butter is his driving ability against slower defenders. So yes, Perry could do that too. Of course, Bosh is also one of the best mid-range shooters in the game, so opponents have to play him close. Perry has never shown . The problem is that Bosh still at least accepts his other duties as a big man. He can rebound well and even defend very well. I'm not sure Perry will commit to those things, certainly he hasn't yet in his career with us or Baylor. It was disconcerting to me to hear him hyping himself as a SF coming out of college, when clearly his best impact would be at PF.

@FreeFezzyFel/BIG3little2@justin_mia@PerkPunt@BallSoHard The problem with PJIII is that all his "best" comparisons are big men, but he has no desire to play like a big man. He didn't in college either. This is why I think ultimately we are looking at the second coming of Jeff Green. Perry wants to play on the perimeter, but really doesn't have a great perimeter game. His best bet is to play PF and use his superior speed and ballhandling to take opponents off the dribble, but he simply doesn't want to put effort into fighting for rebounds or defending the post. Thus, we either get a low efficiency SF or a weak PF. Fine for the bench.

@PerkPunt Well put....I would agree with PJ3 having the higher ceiling then. I think Lamb may be the current better player, but PJ3 has all the athleticism in the world...just needs to get to work and tone himself. I also think he needs to bulk up a bit.

i mean a ceiling is something completely different that current level of tallent. Pj3 has a higher ceiling the the way Serge has a higher ceiling, becuase they have the frame and athleticism to be so much greater than than are. to reach that ceiling the player much be much smarter in how they play. Hench why Harden is much better than serge. Also why lamb was chosen higher he played better in college.